2T,^ (Juail /■i)iclics. 



belie\e the youni; to have been entirely raised on seed, and 

 ahnost entirely on dry seed, for there was very little seeding 

 L'.rass available in their aviary at that time this year. Now the 

 qnestion arose : should I return the youni^sters to their parents. 

 who had probably deserted the nest lonii" since, or entrust them 

 to a canary to rear? With some considerable misgiving I selected 

 the former alternative and, having replaced the youngsters, sat 

 near by to await events. An hour passed, and although one or 

 other of the parents alighted occasionally in the grass near by, 

 neither seemed in the least inclined to venture a nearer approach. 

 -U was now growing dusk, and fearing the little birds would 

 ('ie of chill or starvation, I decided on a bold course of action, 

 which was no less than to catch up both parents and introduc': 

 ti em one after another into the nest with the object, of course, 

 of showing them that their prodigals had returned home. 

 I successfully carried out this manoeuvre and, after introducing 

 ench parent, held my hand over the entrance of the nest for 

 al out a minute in order to gi\-e it time to recover from its fright 

 and to realise the presence in the nest of the young birds. 

 I'lie lien dashed out as soon as I had removed my hand, but the 

 cock slaved in tlie nest for al)out a couple of minutes later, and 

 [ liad hopes! Xor did tliey prove x'ain, for about 20 minutes 

 ],''ter it was just liglit enough to see the little cock bird alight 

 'Ml the maidenhair bush in the usual spot, and, after a very long 

 and nerve-racking pause, toddle down quickly into the nest. 

 Mv relief can l)e ]:)erhaps better imagined than described! 

 I ','1(1 tlie plan failed I had decided upon caging all the family 

 v\i together and hoping for the best. The three young birds 

 filially left the nest on the 27th May, or 17 days after hatching, 

 ''"hey were very strong on the wing and have never looked back 

 -ince that nearly disastrous day. 



The second i>air, which occupied the same aviary, com- 

 inenccd operations on the 28th April. The nest was completed 

 ^.'1 the 29th, and the first egg laid on the 30th April. The nest 

 was placed on the ground in a small tuft of grass in a rather 

 bare patch, about three feet behind a small cump of bamboos. 

 F.xcept that it was not quite so neatly made and was lined with 

 one or two fronds of bamboo besides the usual feathers, this 

 nest exactly resembled the one already described. (It would 

 ajipear that the lining of the nest varies slightly, for last year's 



